PERUSAHAAN Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua), the country’s largest national carmaker, aims to sell more than 30,000 units of the newly launched Perodua Aruz by end of this year.
“The Perodua Aruz is expected to complement our existing product line-up and based on our value proposition, we expect sales of this new model to average 2,500 units monthly or 31,200 units by end-2019,” said Perodua president and chief executive officer Datuk Zainal Abidin Ahmad during the launching ceremony.
Zainal added that since it was opened for bookings on Jan 3, 2019, a total of 2,200 units has been taken up.
The Perodua Aruz is a seven-seater sports utility vehicle (SUV) that is built based on the Toyota Rush’s platform. Two variants are offered — The 1.5-litre X and 1.5 Advanced.
“With the Perodua Aruz, more Malaysians can now enjoy the benefits of an SUV, plus advanced features typically found only in pricier vehicles. This makes it among the best-value SUVs on sale today, with space, safety and efficiency elevated.”
The Aruz was launched by the Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Darell Leiking and witnessed by Perodua chairman Tan Sri Asmat Kamaruddin and the Japanese Ambassador to Malaysia, His Excellency Dr Makio Miyagawa.
Perodua Aruz is the national carmaker’s fourth energy-efficient vehicle (EEV) and 95 per cent of its components are locally-sourced. It is powered by a 1.5-litre engine with dual VVT-i, paired to a four-speed automatic gearbox. It produces 100hp at 6,000rpm and 133 Nm of torque at 4,200rpm.
The Perodua Aruz measures 4,435mm long, 1,695mm wide, 1,740mm high and has a wheelbase of 2,685mm. It has 213 litres of boot space with all seats up and 45 litres of fuel tank capacity. The Aruz is 35mm taller than the Toyota Rush which measures at 1,705mm.
Perodua claims that it has a fuel economy rating of 15.6km/l with “Eco Idle” system.
Both variants are equipped with LED headlamps with follow-me-home function, 17-inch alloy wheels, digital aircond controller, rear air-conditioning vents, multi-function steering wheel, smart entry and push to start button, built-in toll reader, rear spoiler, shark fin antenna, charging ports for all rows and reverse camera. The X variant seats are finished with fabric.
Meanwhile, the range-topping Advance variant has the additional auto light function for its headlamps, leather seats and steering, sporty roof rail, front fog lamps, integrated driving video recorder and HDMI port.
As for the safety features, both variants are fitted with six airbags, traction control, anti-lock braking system, electronic brake distribution, brake assist, emergency stop signal, vehicle stability control, anti-snatch hook, seat belt reminder for front and rear passengers, Isofix child seat mounting points and hill start assist control.
The Advance variant comes with the advanced safety assist 2.0, that features the pedestrian detection (up to 50kph), pre-collision warning to 100kph and pre-collision braking to 80kph. It also has the front departure alert and pedal misoperation control.
The Perodua Aruz has also been awarded a five-star Asean NCAP safety rating by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros).
There are five exterior colours availablen, namely, Ivory White, Glittering Silver, Electric Blue, Granite Grey and a new Amazon Green. The 1.5X and 1.5 Advance are priced at RM72,900 and RM77,900 (excluding insurance and in Peninsular Malaysia only), respectively. It comes with a five-year or 150,000km warranty.
“The Perodua Aruz heralds a new direction for us — upwards. Our entry into the SUV segment elevates us into new territory where we will be taking our customer satisfaction efforts to the next level, to satisfy the needs and wants of a more discerning customer base,” Zainal said.
As an added bonus, from Jan 9, customers who purchase Perodua Total Protect Plus motor insurance will not only enjoy free Perodua Auto Assist benefits, but also free unlimited unnamed drivers, flood allowance of up to RM1,000 and Personal Accident coverage of up to RM10,000.